Hero With A Bow Tie
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day two hundred and seventy-eight: Will would have loved to go to the dance with April, but he did something better instead.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 13th cycle. Now cycle 14!_

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**"Hero With A Bow Tie"  
Will & April [& Bryan] **

It was enough already for Will to have to see it in class, in the halls, but to further drive it home that his rival just kept on winning over him, he had to see him in Glee Club, with her…

Bryan and April… 'Ryan and Rhodes,' he'd hear it again and again. They were, no doubt, the it couple of that time and with even less doubt the appeal for some of the Glee Club's following.

The thing about having to spend so much time in their proximity was that by this fact, it meant he had to become aware of so much of their relationship that he would have rather remained unaware of. Primarily this included the fact that, to him, she deserved so much more than what he gave to this relationship. He didn't understand what he had, because if he did then he'd do things differently… Will sure would.

Now for the last few weeks, all Will could hear about was the dance. He wasn't going to go, but then… something in him genuinely believed he needed to go. With the quick fix of part of an old Glee Club costume and some items from his father, he was set.

Arriving at the gym, his courage ran out of breath as he laid eyes on April Rhodes, a vision in white and pink… and Bryan Ryan's arm coming to rest around her bare shoulders. They were across the gym, but all he could see was her. What did he honestly expect to happen?

As he realized there was nothing to reveal itself about this internal choice to come to the dance, he ended up sitting near the wall. As the evening progressed, his eyes would try and travel elsewhere, but inevitably he'd end up back looking across… to April and Bryan. He could see them sneaking drinks from a couple bottles that were definitely not part of the refreshments offered by the school. He could tell she was drinking more than Bryan was, which probably explained why she didn't see sooner what was happening around her.

At one moment, Will had looked away, just for a few seconds, but then he heard a loud outcry and looked back up. He saw Bryan headed to the dance floor with a girl, leaving a tipsy, awestruck April behind. She stumbled and turned, taking off at a mad dash for the door out to the hall. It took a second for him to snap out of it, but he finally ran off after her. Out in the hall, he stopped and looked one side and then the other… He couldn't see her, but then… He heard a high-pitched sniffling whimper; it was coming from the girls' bathroom. He recognized it immediately; it was the same when she was upset that she wasn't getting her way… if only a bit warbled by her drunkenness.

He wasn't sure if it was too good of an idea for him to go in the girls' bathroom, but he had to see if she was okay. Pushing the door open only made her cries louder. Will breathed out and went in.

"April?" he called carefully. Her cries carried on, unchanged… she probably hadn't heard him. He moved closer, finding her sitting on the ground, her dress poofing around her. Under the moonlight coming from the windows, she looked like a sparkly angel… blowing her nose on a paper towel. She startled as she saw him.

"What are you doing in here?" she sniffled and slurred, throwing the paper aside. Before he could ask if she was okay, she let him know just how she was. "Edith Myers! He just goes and chucks me aside for Edith Myers? She has… a gap tooth, and her hair?" she made a face. "Look at me!" she gestured at herself in disbelief. Will got up to grab the big roll of brown paper, rather than let her see she just how he was just fine looking at her. He brought it back to her. "He keeps doing this, you know? And what do I do? I just roll with it? Why do I keep doing that?"

"I don't know," he spoke honestly as he sat on the ground in front of her. She looked up and eyed the roll.

"Oh, give it here," she held her arms out. Will gave her the roll, which dropped in her lap after she tore off a piece to blow her nose again. She breathed out, looked at him. "Nice bow tie," she sniffled.

"I, uh, borrowed it from my dad," he explained. "Maybe we shouldn't stay here, I mean… the floor is kind of dirty," he looked around. She looked as well, which got a squeal from her, followed by a clumsy scramble to get up. Will got up and helped her find her footing at last.

"Where'd you get those muscles, Schuester?" she smirked.

"Well, you're not that big," he spoke awkwardly.

"Thank you!" she sounded suddenly more flattered and less drunk… But then the quick relocation to 'standing' didn't sit with her stomach. "One second," she spoke before dashing into a stall. Will winced at the retching. He hurried to grab the roll of paper again.

"Why don't I get you home?"

"Okay, yeah, let's do that," he heard echo from the stall.

After tricking April out of her car keys, he got them in the car and started toward her house. She started singing as they turned the corner from McKinley. Even drunk, she could sing circles around anyone. He tried not to go too fast, so she wouldn't be sick again. As they arrived, he helped her out of the car, had to all but carry her on his back up to the door. Her singing had no doubt roused her parents from inside, as they showed up at the door. "H-hi," Will managed a small smile. Mr. Rhodes relieved Will, picking up his daughter and taking her inside. Will gave Mrs. Rhodes the keys and headed off. It was a good thing he didn't live too far away.

Monday morning, things were just as he figured they'd be. April was right back on Bryan Ryan's arm, smiling and laughing. It didn't take long for him to realize she didn't remember what had happened in the bathroom or after. He figured this was just as well. He knew if she'd been sober the evening would have turned out much differently. If anything was going to happen, he wanted it honest.

THE END


End file.
